The British government on Friday warned of potential action against the BBC, after unprecedented criticism from the royal family about its use of deception to secure a 1995 interview with Princess Diana, piling pressure on the corporation as it fights attacks on several fronts.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden, whose brief includes media, said an independent inquiry into the affair highlighted “damning failings at the heart of the BBC”, which is publicly funded.

Ministers would now “consider whether further governance reforms at the BBC are needed”, as talks approach for renewal of its royal charter covering its running and regulation, he added.

Diana’s interview with journalist Martin Bashir was a global scoop, and saw the princess detail her crumbling marriage to heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles, as well as admitting to adultery.

But a retired senior judge on Thursday concluded Bashir had faked documents to falsely claim Diana was being kept tabs on by her closest aides, which persuaded her to take part.

Diana and Charles’ eldest son and second-in-line to the throne, Prince William, was scathing in his criticism on Thursday, accusing the BBC of failing his mother and the public — and worsening his parents’ relationship.

William’s younger brother Harry also waded in, adding: “The ripple effect of a culture of exploitation and unethical practices ultimately took her life.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, said: “I hope very much the BBC will be taking every possible step to make sure that nothing like this ever happens again.”

Britain’s Prince William accused the BBC of failing his mother Princess Diana and poisoning her relationship with Prince Charles after an inquiry found a journalist for the broadcaster deceitfully obtained an interview with her in 1995.

William’s astonishing rebuke to the public broadcaster comes after a report published Thursday said the inquiry found that BBC journalist Martin Bashir used deceit to win a sensational 1995 interview with Diana, and that the broadcaster covered up the deception.

During the “Panorama” interview, watched by more than 20 million viewers in Britain, Diana shocked the nation by admitting to an affair and sharing details of her marriage to the heir to the throne and William’s father, Prince Charles.

Diana died in a Paris car crash in 1997 at the age of 36.

“It is my view that the deceitful way the interview was obtained substantially influenced what my mother said. The interview was a major contribution to making my parents’ relationship worse and has since hurt countless others,” William, 38, said in a statement.

“It brings indescribable sadness to know that the BBC’s failures contributed significantly to her fear, paranoia and isolation that I remember from those final years with her.”

In a separate statement issued at the same time, William’s brother Harry did not mention the BBC by name, but drew broader aim at the media and the “ripple effect of a culture of exploitation and unethical practices (which) ultimately took her life.”

“To those who have taken some form of accountability, thank you for owning it. That is the first step towards justice and truth,” Harry, 36, said.

“Yet what deeply concerns me is that practices like these – and even worse – are still widespread today. Then, and now, it’s bigger than one outlet, one network, or one publication.”

Harry and his wife Meghan quit their duties as members of the royal family and moved to California last year. Harry, who has sued several British tabloids, has spoken out previously about his worries that his mother’s experience of the intense glare of the press would be repeated with his wife.